Rio city council votes against opening impeachment of mayor

Source: Associated Press

By MARCELO SILVA DE SOUSA

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The city council voted Thursday against opening impeachment proceedings against Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella, rejecting accusations he misused his office to grant favors to members of his evangelical church.

Last week, the newspaper O Globo reported that Crivella held a meeting with members of Brazil’s Universal Church of Kingdom of God at which he discussed helping them access public services. Crivella was a bishop in the evangelical church and his religiousness has been a subject contention since he took office last year.

Some city council members contended the mayor was inappropriately offering favors to church members and filed requests for his impeachment. But the council voted 29 to 16 Thursday against opening those proceedings.

“If the mayor wasn’t evangelical, if the mayor had met with any other group, of another religion, would there be as much attention focused on this?” asked Alexandre Isquierdo, a city councilman who voted against opening the proceedings.